Retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Diane Dunn has been nominated to lead the Maine National Guard and Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management.

If confirmed by the Legislature, she would be the first woman to hold those positions.

Gov. Janet Mills on Friday announced that Maj. Gen. Douglas Farnham was retiring from the state’s top military post and that she was nominating Dunn to be his successor. Farnham has been the leader of the Maine National Guard since 2015.

Dunn is a former assistant adjutant general and chief of staff of the Maine Army National Guard with 33 years of military service. In 2014, she became the first woman to command a brigade in the Maine Army National Guard. Upon her promotion to brigadier general in 2020, she became the first female general officer in the 200-year history of the Maine Army National Guard.

Dunn has served as company commander of the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 286th Supply Services Battalion in Bangor, battalion commander of the 240th Regional Training Institute while it was in Augusta, battalion commander of the 286th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion in both Bangor and Afghanistan, and brigade commander of the 120th Regional Support Group in Bangor.

“General Dunn has served at the highest levels of the Maine National Guard. She is uniquely and highly qualified to serve as adjutant general and commissioner, and she is deeply respected by the men and women of the department who have served with her,” Mills said in a statement. “She is the right person to take on these immense responsibilities, and I am grateful that she is once again willing to answer the call to serve Maine and the nation.”

Dunn, 57, grew up in Farmington, Jay and Lewiston of French-Canadian, Irish and Penobscot Indian ancestry. Her family also has deep roots in harness racing, starting with her grandparents.

“I extend my deepest gratitude to Gov. Mills for nominating me,” Dunn said. “I have tremendous respect for our airmen, soldiers, and employees of the department who play a crucial role in protecting and serving our state and nation. It would be an honor and a privilege to once again lead them and to serve my beloved state.”

Farnham previously served as commander of the 101st Air Refueling Wing in the Maine Air National Guard. He was first nominated to serve as adjutant general and DVEM commissioner by former Gov. Paul LePage in 2015, shortly after LePage fired James Campbell for misleading the public and his boss about possible plans to swap the 133rd Engineer Battalion with an infantry unit in another state.

Farnham was renominated to the position by Mills in 2019.

“General Farnham is a highly respected leader of unwavering integrity whose counsel and advice has been invaluable to me, and whose dedicated service has made our state and nation stronger,” Mills said. “I am deeply grateful for his service and wish him nothing but the best as he embarks upon his well-deserved retirement.”

“It has been an honor to serve the governor and the state in this capacity,” Farnham said. “The airmen, soldiers and employees of the Maine National Guard, Maine Emergency Management Agency, and the Maine Bureau of Veteran Services made me proud every day as they demonstrated their commitment and dedication to the people of Maine and the nation.”

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